Incubators supporting social innovation in specific territories: The case of I-Engage

This article explores the characteristics of the incubation process of socially innovative projects within the domain of the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE). Our analysis reviews the characteristics of the social innovation proposed by the projects and the specificities of the SSE domain. Through the study of I-Engage, an incubator specialized in the SSE, we present and illustrate a number of possible social innovations. Our study reveals that an incubator working in this area will need to adapt its services in order to align the needs of an SSE project with the elements necessary to achieve entrepreneurial success. Our study enables us to reveal how some of the dimensions of the SSE-oriented startup may negatively impact the development of a solid entrepreneurial offering, as would be the case of a firm focusing solely on its own territory.